The Bridge
by TheGiverStories
Summary: A continuation from CHP 17, Jonas has to share his training with someone other than the Giver and shares it with his best friend, Fiona. And an alternate ending and story after CHP 17. Jonas/Fiona
1. Chapter 1: The Ride

**A/N: I do not own _The Giver_ by Lois Lowry. I used some of the content, but I did not write the first 5 sentences. Hopefully, I get some reviews to continue writing. I am on fanfiction a lot and would like to hear from some people about what they think of the story. :) And hopefully, you enjoy.**

 **This is an alternate continuation of Chapter 17, one of my favorite chapters.**

"Do you want to go for a ride along the river, Jonas?" Fiona asked, biting her lip with nervousness.

Jonas looked at her. She was so lovely. For a fleeting instant, he thought he would like nothing better than to ride peacefully along the river path, laughing and talking with his gentle female friend. But such times were taken from him now. But he accepted her offer. Asher, still irritated, trudged over to his bike and went away. He and Fiona walked to their bikes on the walkway, and as they mounted their bikes, Jonas had a feeling in his heart. A feeling that was described as…

Love….

and that the love he felt was for his female friend. He didn't say it though, as he knew she wouldn't understand. So they pedaled slowly to the river.

Fiona, still worried about her friend, was thinking why Jonas had stopped them from playing their game. It was a simple game, where if you were hit by the imaginary weapon that you would fall down and lie there until you counted to 10.

"Maybe it is something I don't understand," Fiona said to herself.

As they rode, Fiona kept glimpsing to her best friend, keeping his head down low. She didn't know why he was feeling the way he was feeling. She could see his eyes dampening. Crying was a rarity in the community. She had never cried unless she was in pain. But Jonas wasn't in any sort of pain unless it was a type of pain she didn't know of. She remembered when the Chief Elder told Jonas that his training involved pain, physical pain that couldn't be described. She wondered what pain he was feeling. There was no bruises or marks on his body, so she knew there wasn't any outside pain.

"Fiona?" Jonas asked.

Fiona looked at him. She could see his eyes, cold-locked on her eyes. His eyes were pale, instead of a dark reminiscent color.

"Yes, Jonas?" Fiona asked.

"Let's stop at the bridge," Jonas said finally.

"Alright, Jonas," Fiona said, her breath uneven.

Fiona didn't know what to expect of her friend. The bridge was in view now, spanning the river. It was beautiful that day. She could see now, Jonas crying, tears leaving his eye and dripping on his tunic. She didn't know why this was happening.

"Why are you crying, Jonas?" Fiona asking with concern.

Jonas sighed. A tear glistened and dripped down his cheek. She knew she wouldn't understand the pain and sorrow of his assignment. But that was why they were headed to the bridge. It would be the first rule broken from his training after he received the assignment. He was going to tell her about it. What happens during the training. He knew she could be trusted with anything. He was her best friend. And he would need someone to tell and could be trusted to keep secrets.

"I'll tell you at the bridge," Jonas said softly, as he wiped a tear from off the corner of his eye.


	2. Chapter 2: The Bridge

They approached the bridge. The bridge was rarely used on a workday, because the children were too busy at their dwellings, doing volunteer hours or doing their assignments. The adults are also too busy on their assignments and rarely use the bridge. Jonas knew it was a great place to talk about his feelings. There was a bench on the bridge and when they arrived, they got off their bikes and sat down. Jonas was still sad, but wasn't crying.

"So, why did you want to come to the bridge with me?" Fiona asked with a nervous look.

"I came with yo-" Jonas didn't know what to say. He knew what he wanted to do, but he didn't know how to say it. "Promise me you'll keep this a secret." Jonas said. Fiona nodded. "It's just so.. so frustrating." Jonas said. Fiona looked at him with concern. What was so frustrating? Why was he frustrated? So many questions raced through her head. But she kept her mouth shut.

"It's just that.. I am having a hard time." Jonas said. Fiona looked at him.

"Having a hard time on what?" Fiona asked. She wasn't aware of her rudeness until now, so she tried to apologize. "I apologize fo-" Jonas interrupted.

"You don't need to apologize to me, Fiona. Please don't." Jonas begged. She was surprised. Did he not accept apologies anymore? She was puzzled. But he continued. "You promise to keep this a secret, alright?" Jonas asked. She hesitantly nodded her head. Then Jonas had told her all about his trainings with the "Giver" (Receiver of Memory that now gives memories to another ROM). She looked at him attentively, listening on all the words that he said. She understood most of the words, until "Love".

"What is love?" she asked. Jonas looked at her. Was there anyway he could tell her without using her as an example? He thought about it. "Love.. is an emotion. It is deep inside you. You have family love, like brothers and sisters, or mother and father. Then there is another type of love. A love that flows through your heart. And I can say that the pills take away that love." Jonas concluded. Fiona held her head low. Were the pills really taking away that love? She could now feel something inside her, like a churning of warmth and heat. Jonas looked at her, and felt the same thing. The same churning of heat inside him. Fluttering around his body. _How will she feel if I tell her I loved her?_ It was a weird thought. He pulled out his hand from his pocket and raised her head. He stared into her greenish-blue eyes. _If only she knew how beautiful her eyes were. How beautiful the color was._ Fiona looked into his eyes, surprised. They kept staring into each other's eyes. Jonas stood up and leaned against the railing, looking at the river in front of him. Fiona also stood up and looked at the river in front of them.


	3. Chapter 3: The Kiss

They stared at the river, the churning water rushing down. Jonas broke the awkward silence.

" It's beautiful, don't you think?" Jonas asked.

"Yes, it is," Fiona replied.

"It's beautiful… like you." Jonas said.

Fiona turned her head to face him. _Did she really hear him say that?_ She didn't know what to say. She smiled, looking at Jonas. Finally, Jonas turned his head and looked at her eyes. _This is what I've come for. All this time, the stirrings, the feelings, it was her. She is the hope. She is the pride of me._ They stared at each other, both smiling. Fiona had that heat and warmth, but this time it came to her face. It turned pinkish-red. _Blushing, Jonas thought to himself. She is blushing._ Her fiery red hair flowed with the direction of the wind. Fiona finally looked away, but not for a second until she met the pale eyes of Jonas again. She couldn't help staring at him. It was like the pill didn't work today and that she felt affection sizzle through both of them. Jonas finally broke the long silence.

"So, what do you think of today?" Jonas asked. _He hoped that she would say it was beautiful, like you._ But she answered with a different answer than he had hoped for.

"It is very warm and nice." she said, smiling.

"Anything else?" Jonas asked.

"Nope, warm and nice.. like you," she said again smiling with even more feeling.

Jonas smiled. He looked forward once again. He reached out for Fiona's hand. Fiona looked at his hand move slowly toward hers. She didn't react to anyway other than to let him grab it and hold it. She felt more butterflies, flying around in her body. Jonas looked back at her and let go. Then he started caressing her hair. Fiery red hair, a rarity in the community. No one else had it. Fiona looked at him, with a sense of care and comfort. _This day is going to be the moment._ He touched closer to her face, and then finally, as in the stirrings, he had kissed the girl he always wanted. Fiona was surprised by his actions. Jonas pulled away and looked at her. She could see a glimpse of his eyes tear up. It was the first rule Fiona broke since she got her assignment. But it was also the start of their relationship.


	4. Chapter 4: The Escape

After learning what release was, Jonas was determined to fix the rules. But that all stopped when Gabe was going to be released. He was going to go tonight, but then remembered one thing.

Fiona…

It was some time since their first kiss. They've secretly shown their affection to each other. He couldn't leave Fiona behind. Not after what she meant to him. There was still time in Evening Recreation. Fiona was usually in front of her dwelling during Evening Recreation times. He walked over to her dwelling. He had to go tonight because they were releasing Gabriel tomorrow. But, he knew that he had one more thing to do before he went and that was to bring Fiona with him. She was outside (as predicted) and smiled at Jonas but quickly realized his sense of urgency. She wondered what was happening. Jonas quickly came up to her and asked.

"Can you come with me?"

"Where? Go where?" Fiona asked.

"Elsewhere," Jonas said.

"What?! Elsewhere is far away! And why?" Fiona asked.

"Do you know what release is?" Jonas asked.

"Yes, but does that have anything to do with it?" Fiona asked.

"Yes. They are planning to release Gabriel who was Uncertain at the NC (Nurturing Center)." Jonas said. "Release means kill."

"What?!" Fiona exclaimed.

"So, are you coming with us? To escape? The Giver told us if we make it, my memories will be released to the community." Jonas explained.

She thought about it. Then she nodded hesitantly. "Yes, I will come."

She went into her dwelling and raced to her bedroom, gathering as much clothes as she could. Then they mounted their bikes. They set off to the bridge, where it all started. Jonas could remember that first kiss. They looked at each other when they crossed. Fiona had remembered it too, the soft lips of Jonas touching hers. As they crossed, love penetrated their hearts. Butterflies flew in them. They smiled and each other and at the other side Jonas hoped that the Giver's hearing beyond could hear his "Goodbye."

It was 2 days after leaving the community. Fiona and Jonas rode during the night to avoid the search planes. They ate and slept in the day. Gabriel slept soundly during the nights. All Gabriel needed was a couple of memories. As they made their way through the treacherous terrain, they found other colors that they have never seen. Well Fiona hasn't seen them. She didn't know how to feel. By the end of the 2nd night, they sat down under a tree. They ate and then talked about what they were doing tomorrow. Fiona felt Jonas touching her hand. It was a warm touch. She laid her head on his chest.

"I love you," Jonas said.

"I love you, too," Fiona said.

Eventually:

After 1 week and 3 days after leaving the community, they found the Boundary of Memory. Jonas had crossed and seen the immersive light travel to the direction of the communities. _He had removed Sameness._ They saw a "house" that had no one in it. It said that anyone could take that house. It was in the middle of a forest, so they entered. There were plenty of things that none of them had seen in the community. Refrigerators, television and other things not provided in the community. They would begin a new life here.


End file.
